December’s magazine in numbers

0 – number of all-male boards in FTSE100

Lord Davies has published his report on how women’s representation on the boards of the FTSE 100 has changed since 2010. In 2011, women made up 12.5% of board members; today it’s 25%, with Davies calling for a target for FTSE 350 firms of 33% by 2020. Worth noting that the figures are for positions held by women, not individuals, so women who serve on more than one board would have been counted more than once.

0.5 – tonnes less meat used by Sodexo

The company has “shaved” meat from 10 of its popular meals in eight independent schools, replacing it with plants, pulses and fruit. In three weeks the chefs have used half a tonne less meat. Carbon savings could also be in the region of 10% to 15%.

2 – number of years to find ugly veg

The upmarket catering firm Vacherin has finally found a supplier of ugly fruit and veg. This follows a two-year search, but it’s worth it given that it’s 20% cheaper for the chefs and there’s no discernable difference in quality.

30% – cuts DEFRA has agreed with the chancellor

DEFRA could shrink to nothing more than a firefighting – or rather flood- fighting – department by 2020. The department has agreed severe cuts to its budget with the Treasury. A recent survey also found that only 31% of civil servants at Nobel House feel the department is being well-managed.

11,000 – plastic particles eaten by the ‘average’ seafood consumer

Fish and shellfish eat tiny plastic particles floating around in the sea. Then we eat the fish. Is this a human health threat? Probably not, according to our briefing. The 11,000 figure (from a study in Belgium) is also unlikely, we were told: “You’d have to eat 22,000 mussels a year.” That doesn’t mean marine litter isn’t an environmental threat currently or a food safety issue in the future, though.

The one(s) that got away

Actually, there were two. The British Hospitality Association said “many” of its members had signed up to its voluntary code of practice on tipping, but couldn’t offer up a figure. The British Soft Drinks Association is equally vague when it comes to its claim that advertising spending on low- and no-calorie drinks has increased 50% in the past year – Footprint would like to know from what to what and, even better, how those figures compare to advertising as a whole. Please?